Sumter County Commute Time Map & Patterns
HelpCommuting in Sumter County, Alabama: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
Commute Time Burden in Sumter County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Sumter County spend about 41 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 170 hours, about 7.1 full days, spent commuting. That is 8% less time on the road than the Alabama average of 22.1 minutes each way, a difference of 1.7 minutes.
Sumter County holds about 0.2% of Alabama's population and accounts for roughly 0.2% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Sumter County would save about 68 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,112 at the same national wage assumption used above.
| Area | One-Way Commute | Daily Round-Trip | Yearly Time Spent | Estimated Yearly Cost | Local Road Traffic (VPD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sumter County | 20.4 min | 40.9 min | 170 hrs/yr | $5,280 | 279 |
| Alabama | 22.1 min | 44.3 min | 184 hrs/yr | $5,717 | 1,193 |
| United States | 22.4 min | 44.8 min | 187 hrs/yr | $5,790 | 1,355 |
The estimated yearly cost applies a single national rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area - treat it as a rough estimate, not a paycheck figure. Local road traffic counts, vehicles per day on non-highway roads, come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Commute Time Map: Alabama Counties
- Pike County (16.4 min)
- Houston County (18.3 min)
- Escambia County (18.5 min)
- Blount County (33.2 min)
- Pickens County (32.5 min)
- Lowndes County (31.9 min)
Compare commute times among different counties
On average, it takes 20.4 minutes to get to work in Sumter County. That's 9% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 76% of counties in Alabama
The most common departure window is 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM, followed by 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 9.3% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Sumter County
- Car: 85.2%
- Worked at Home: 9.3%
- Walked: 4.1% unusually high
- Other: 1.3%
- Public Transportation: 0.2%
- Motorcycle: < 0.1% unusually low
- Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
- Bicycle: < 0.1% unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is unusually rare in Sumter County: 4.0 times less than the Alabama average (0.0% vs 0.1%).
Walking is unusually common in Sumter County: 3.6 times more than the Alabama average (4.1% vs 1.1%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Sumter County, versus 0.1% in Alabama.
Biking is essentially absent in Sumter County, versus 0.1% in Alabama.
Sumter County stands out for active commuting: 4.1% of workers walk or bike to work, 3.3 times the Alabama average of 1.2%.
Commute Mode Trends in Sumter County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Sumter County get to work, as a share of all workers aged 16 and over, across 16 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) releases from 2009 to 2024. Each release is a 5-year estimate: the 2024 figures cover surveys taken from 2020 to 2024. Because neighboring releases share most of their survey years, the lines move gradually, and a sudden change such as the rise of remote work in 2020 spreads across several releases. Hover over or tap a line to highlight it, and use the legend to show or hide a mode. Driving starts hidden so the smaller modes stay readable.
Show commute mode data by year
| Year | Car | Worked at Home | Walked | Other | Public Transportation | Taxi | Motorcycle | Bicycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 96.0% | 0.4% | 2.2% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2010 | 97.7% | 0.4% | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2011 | 95.7% | 0.7% | 2.6% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2012 | 95.6% | 1.0% | 2.3% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2013 | 94.7% | 1.3% | 3.3% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2014 | 95.5% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 94.7% | 2.0% | 2.8% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2016 | 94.4% | 2.0% | 2.8% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 94.7% | 1.8% | 3.1% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2018 | 94.4% | 1.2% | 3.8% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 2019 | 93.4% | 1.6% | 3.6% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 2020 | 93.9% | 2.0% | 2.9% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 94.4% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2022 | 91.7% | 5.4% | 2.4% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 88.0% | 8.0% | 3.1% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | 85.2% | 9.3% | 4.1% | 1.3% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2010 at 97.7%. Overall it fell from 96.0% in 2009 to 85.2% in 2024, down 10.8 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 3 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Sumter County: its share of workers rose from 0.4% in 2009 to 9.3% in 2024, up 8.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 7.7 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 0.9% to 0.2% of workers (down 0.7 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2022 release and has stayed ahead since.
Commute Start Times in Sumter County
- 🦉 Night OwlThe latest start among Alabama's 67 counties: half of commuters are still at home at 7:40 AM.
- 🛌 Hitting SnoozeThe biggest shift to later mornings among Alabama's 67 counties: the typical start is 25 minutes later than in 2009.
- 😴 Sleeping InThe 2nd-highest share of 9 AM-or-later starts among Alabama's 67 counties: 28.7% of commuters leave at 9 AM or later.
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Sumter County?
The bars show when commuters in Sumter County leave home for work, as a share of everyone who commutes (people who work from home are not counted), from the 2024 ACS 5-year estimates. The thin violet marks show Alabama for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
| 12:00-4:59 AM |
12:00-4:59 AM
Sumter County4.5%
Alabama6.8%
|
4.5% |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00-5:29 AM |
5:00-5:29 AM
Sumter County3.5%
Alabama5.1%
|
3.5% |
| 5:30-5:59 AM |
5:30-5:59 AM
Sumter County3.0%
Alabama5.9%
|
3.0% |
| 6:00-6:29 AM |
6:00-6:29 AM
Sumter County8.3%
Alabama9.9%
|
8.3% |
| 6:30-6:59 AM |
6:30-6:59 AM
Sumter County8.6%
Alabama11.3%
|
8.6% |
| 7:00-7:29 AM |
7:00-7:29 AM
Sumter County16.4%
Alabama16.8%
|
16.4% |
| 7:30-7:59 AM |
7:30-7:59 AM
Sumter County16.8%
Alabama11.8%
|
16.8% |
| 8:00-8:29 AM |
8:00-8:29 AM
Sumter County7.1%
Alabama8.6%
|
7.1% |
| 8:30-8:59 AM |
8:30-8:59 AM
Sumter County3.1%
Alabama3.5%
|
3.1% |
| 9:00-9:59 AM |
9:00-9:59 AM
Sumter County2.3%
Alabama4.6%
|
2.3% |
| 10:00-10:59 AM |
10:00-10:59 AM
Sumter County2.4%
Alabama2.2%
|
2.4% |
| 11:00-11:59 AM |
11:00-11:59 AM
Sumter County4.4%
Alabama1.0%
|
4.4% |
| 12:00-3:59 PM |
12:00-3:59 PM
Sumter County9.3%
Alabama6.3%
|
9.3% |
| 4:00-11:59 PM |
4:00-11:59 PM
Sumter County10.2%
Alabama6.2%
|
10.2% |
Sumter County Alabama Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Sumter County is 7:30-7:59 AM, when 16.8% of commuters leave home, compared with 11.8% across Alabama. Early starts are less common than in Alabama: 11.0% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 17.9% there. The morning rush looks much like Alabama's: 48.9% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 48.6% there. About 1 in 3 commuters (28.7%) leave at 9 AM or later, which usually points to shift work, flexible hours or part-time jobs.
When people leave matters as much as how far they go. Rush-hour traffic shrinks how much ground a 20-minute trip covers, so a trade area drawn as a simple circle often takes in neighborhoods that customers or staff would never drive from and misses others that are an easy trip. A drive-time zone, also called an isochrone, outlines every place within a set number of minutes of an address, which makes it the more honest way to size a store's catchment, a hiring area or the commute from a new home.
See it for yourself on the interactive map: click any spot in Sumter County, pick a 5, 10, 15 or 30-minute drive and see the local demographics of the people who live within that exact drive time.
Is Sumter County Waking Up Earlier? Typical Departure Time, 2009-2024
Each line follows the typical (median) departure time: the moment by which half of commuters have already left home. Higher on the chart means a later start. Setting Sumter County next to Alabama and the U.S. shows whether local mornings are drifting earlier or later than everyone else's. The figures span 16 ACS 5-year releases, so changes build up gradually rather than jumping from one year to the next.
Show typical departure times by year
| Year | Sumter County | Alabama | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7:15 AM | 7:20 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2010 | 7:28 AM | 7:20 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2011 | 7:28 AM | 7:20 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2012 | 7:21 AM | 7:20 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2013 | 7:20 AM | 7:21 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2014 | 7:20 AM | 7:21 AM | 7:39 AM |
| 2015 | 7:22 AM | 7:21 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2016 | 7:22 AM | 7:21 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2017 | 7:23 AM | 7:21 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2018 | 7:14 AM | 7:20 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2019 | 7:18 AM | 7:20 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2020 | 7:32 AM | 7:20 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2021 | 7:31 AM | 7:21 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2022 | 7:29 AM | 7:20 AM | 7:37 AM |
| 2023 | 7:38 AM | 7:20 AM | 7:38 AM |
| 2024 | 7:40 AM | 7:19 AM | 7:38 AM |
In 2024, half of commuters in Sumter County were on the road by 7:40 AM, 25 minutes later than in 2009 (7:15 AM). Across Alabama, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Sumter County now leave 2 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Sumter County has moved 23 minutes later. The 2024 release is the latest typical start for Sumter County in the whole series.
How does Sumter County's commute time compare?
| Metric | Sumter County | Alabama | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Commute Time | 20.4 min | 22.1 min | 22.4 min |
| Departure Window | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM |
| Secondary Departure Window | 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM | 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM |
| Work From Home | 9.3% | 8.8% | 15.0% |
| Walked | 4.1% | 1.1% | 2.4% |
| Public Transit | 0.2% | 0.3% | 3.2% |
The average commute time in Sumter County is 20.4 minutes, shorter than the 22.1 minutes in Alabama.
0.2% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.3% in Alabama. 4.1% commute by walking, higher than the 1.1% in Alabama.
Sumter County, AL Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Sumter County, AL is typical in size for this group, 11,878 residents against a local median of 12,380, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Where Sumter County, AL breaks from the counties next to it is work from home, sitting 103% above the local median of 4.6% at 9.3%.
The counties themselves spread 4.4% on work from home, so Sumter County, AL sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Sumter County, AL has the highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | One-way commute | Work from home | Typical departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sumter County, AL | 11,878 | 20.4 min #2/6 | 9.3% #1/6 | 7:40 AM #6/6 |
| Greene County, AL | 7,424 | 23.7 min | 4.7% | 6:44 AM |
| Kemper County, MS | 8,729 | 30.9 min | 0.8% | 7:01 AM |
| Lauderdale County, MS | 71,502 | 18.7 min | 5.2% | 7:31 AM |
| Marengo County, AL | 18,851 | 21.4 min | 4.6% | 7:12 AM |
| Choctaw County, AL | 12,380 | 31.2 min | 2.3% | 6:47 AM |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about commuting in Sumter County, Alabama.
Is commuting expensive in Sumter County, Alabama?
Commuters here spend an estimated 170 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,280 at a typical national wage. That's 8% less than the typical Alabama commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Sumter County, Alabama?
Traffic peaks between 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM in Sumter County, Alabama. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Which counties in Alabama have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in Alabama, the shortest average commutes are in Pike County (16.4 min), Houston County (18.3 min), Escambia County (18.5 min). The longest are in Blount County (33.2 min), Pickens County (32.5 min), Lowndes County (31.9 min).